Thinking of Removing Dielectric plate Corotor II+ Wideband

[TvMind]

Well, think I'm getting tired of low signals, and don't care about circular material anymore.
Now , like a dummy, I threw out my old beat up Corotor II+, and realized later I could have used parts from it for my conversion.
I didn't attempt this at the time when I realized it required complete dis-assembly to perform the surgery.
I am not crazy about paying $150 plus shipping to get another feed.

Question: I realize this is discouraged by most folks (Chapparal included, not surprisingly), but have any brave souls attempted this ? I would like to know your experience. Obviously I don't want to make matters worse and destroy a perfectly new feedhorn.
IIRC, the plate is embedded and wedged in the grooves of the throat.. The clear plastic 'guide' from my old feed would have come in handy !

Star-Trak 400
10' mesh
VW
Geosat HD micro

 

[mmewrench]

You can get a new corotor II plus pretty cheap from ricks (He will ship to Canada). I would just sell the wideband and buy new.

 

[primestar31]

Just buy an lnbf, much less hassle. Here's a good one, and it's only $23.00 U.S. It's dual output, so can be hooked to a switch like an orthomode. http://www.ebay.com/itm/C-Band-ESX2...ellite_LNB_Downconverters&hash=item4175b9dabb

 

[nhulst]

What "parts" are you after specifically? I have an old Corotor that is sitting around doing nothing...

 

[Titanium]

Don't have any advice for modifying your feedhorn, but I do want to encourage you not to downgrade to an LNBF. LNBFs can be convenient and controlled with most any DVBS receiver, but the downsides are the loss of performance and ability to fine-tune the polarization for specific feeds.

Plain and simple, LNBFs are and always have been a compromise. Feedhorns with LNBs and an adjustable skew provide the most reliable reception and flexibility. They allow the user to optimize the skew for each signal and lock onto marginal signals and attenuate adjacent satellite and terrestrial interference. This is becoming increasingly important with new S2 modulations, higher FEC and less margins for error.

I find it ridiculous that in a forum of hobbyists who are always commenting on ways to optimize their systems, that this suggestion is repeatedly made for users to downgrade from quality equipment. If a user wants the most performance and options with their system, they would not consider an LNBF.

Yes, this may sound strange coming from a developer of quality LNBFs and the soon to be released C1-PLL. One would assume that I would be promoting the user to buy the latest and greatest new LNBF. Personally, I would not swap a Corotor for an LNBF, except if it were an issue of convenience or lack of hardware to control.

I agree with the other post, probably best to sell the wideband version and buy a new or used Corotor for optimized for linear only reception. Sounds like Nhulst has something that could help!

 

[primestar31]

The suggestion for installing a $23 lnbf was made because he said in his posting that he didn't want to spend $150 on a new corotor, and I sure didn't want him to take the chance of ruining his present feed by trying to remove the teflon slab that was built into it.

 

[mmewrench]

The suggestion for installing a $23 lnbf was made because he said in his posting that he didn't want to spend $150 on a new corotor, and I sure didn't want him to take the chance of ruining his present feed by trying to remove the teflon slab that was built into it.

I agree with the part about about not trying to modify that wideband corotor. Someone out there will buy it and make good use of it. As far as the price of a new corotor goes, I just bought one for less than $100.00 a few months ago plus shipping and I stated where it came from.

 

[TvMind]

Appreciate all the suggestions, but I have to agree with the one poster and will stick to the feedhorn/lnb combo. I am planning next Spring to upgrade the system with better Norsat lnb's , mine is over 20 years old, and still going strong but with the new fussier DVB-S2 signals it's definitely pushing it's limits.

Strange I did 'upgrade' my Ku to a NJRC 2744KH because my old Norsat died (err was killed..long story), but my performance dropped off considerably on Ku. I thought it was the feedhorn, again, but was reassured by Chapparal and others here, that the Ku performance isn't affected by the dielectric. I peaked my system on Ku this summer thoroughly so I know it's not that. The only other explanation is the lnb was defective. I paid $90 for it so I'm none too pleased I have to buy a new one. Anyway I found it odd that the antenna probe was offset on this JRC, from the normal centered Norsat lnb. I even tried different configurations, to see if that affects gain, but nothing.

I really only wanted RTV feed on 83W , because I prefer to record this DVB-S signal from my older, S-video output Mpeg box to my Pioneer DVR , but the signal is unusuable whereas before the 'accident' I was getting decent Ku performance (97 W, and 83 W). I realize this is unrelated to the original question, so I hope this doesn't violate any rules.


Thanks again.

Tony

 

[mikekohl]

I have taken apart an old ADL RP-3 (forerunner of the Chaparral CoRotor II), International version, which was epoxied in place.
Advice: Don't do it! Too many things to go wrong and easy to damage your Ku-band feedhorn probe and/or any waveguide connections. If your feedhorn is old, it may simply be that the Ku-band performance is compromised in the first place, with the second possibility that maybe your NJRC is not as linear as it is claiming to be. The only way to easily determine that is with another LNB as a reference, after first confirming that its performance is stellar.

 

[TvMind]

Thanks Mike, appreciate your input here.

No the feedhorn was brand new in the box, so doubt it was damaged. Now about the linearity of it, I will order a Norsat 4116 Ku and compare.

 

[toucan-man]

I find it ridiculous that in a forum of hobbyists who are always commenting on ways to optimize their systems, that this suggestion is repeatedly made for users to downgrade from quality equipment. If a user wants the most performance and options with their system, they would not consider an LNBF.

I'm not a hobbyist, I just want to watch TV. I'll trade you a box of old corotors for one of them shiny new LNBFs you're selling...

 

[Titanium]

I'm not a hobbyist, I just want to watch TV. I'll trade you a box of old corotors for one of them shiny new LNBFs you're selling...

You are one of the users who had to choose convenience over performance.

The digital receivers lost the ability to directly interface with C-band positioners and polarity control. This is why we will provide a choice of either the quality C1-PLL LNBF for those who prefer the convenience or the soon to be released, ASC1 motor actuator with automatic polarity control of the servo motors for those who want both convenience and performance.

The ASC1 will return complete positioning and polarity control to any regular STB and allow anyone in the house to just change channels! No hodgepodge of using a 4DTV or old analog receiver to position the dish and select the correct polarity for the channel that you selected on the DVBS/S2 receiver. Satellite scanning and TV watching will be easy and simply controlled by your favorite DVBS or S2 receiver.

Let me know which solution to send you in a few weeks!

 

[ftageekyyc]

I will be ordering one of each from Rpssat as soon as he has them.

 

[tdti1]

Have you talked to Roger at rps? I have traded in lots of feeds and lnb's with that guy over the past few years for some credit